id please

hkgar

hkgar

Active member
I set a trap for a Blueheaded Wrasse that was eating my SPS and caught him along with this guy. I am thinking it is a long lost Lawnmower Blenny but the two back fins have me wondering. I know the pictures are horrible.

Whatever it is I haven't seen it out and about in months - if at all.

In the last week I have over 3 days had all rocks out of the tank and scrubbed because of severe algae problems and never saw this guy.

I think he may be nocturnal as he was caught in the trap overnight. The coloring is actually brown and not blue.





 
If it is a Lizard Fish, he has been in the tank at least 2 years and must have been a hitchhiker in some rock I got when I set it up. I wonder what it has existed on as no fish have come up missing.

I guess I will reset the trap tonight and hope I get him. Doesn't sound like I want him in the tank.

One Question. This guy has two dorsal fins and the pics I see on line don't seem to show two dorsal fins
This is a pic I found online
http://www.mexfish.com/mexico/wp-content/uploads/F092-Calico-Lizardfish-1-570x225.jpg

Also interesting that all rock was removed and scrubbed, as I have previously mentioned, then sprayed with 3% hydrogen peroxide and then into a fresh water dip. I never saw him in the tank during this process and I wouldn't think he would stay in a rock crevice during this process. He must have quickly moved from one rock pile to another as the rock was removed.
 
A better pic would help.. jaw structure doesnt look pointed and toothy like a lizardfishes.. Looks like a Callogobius Hasselti or similar species to me..
 
somosomo said:
A better pic would help.. jaw structure doesnt look pointed and toothy like a lizardfishes.. Looks like a Callogobius Hasselti or similar species to me..
Click to expand...

That is a possibility. This one has the 2 long dorsal fins. But, from what i read, that species only gets to about 2.5 and this fish is about 3.5. Probably within the range, but got me thinking and I think it is a long lost Orange spotted Blenny or Orange Spotted Goby.

Unless I trap it there won't be any pictures as it is never seen. I think I will just to get a good pic out of the radions.
 
snorvich said:
Google Synodus variegatus which is the variety you have.
Click to expand...

I don't think it's a lizard, the mouth isn't right and they only have a single dorsal fin.

I'm pretty sure it's a goby. Check the pelvic fins. On (most) gobies they are grown together and form a suction cup.

somosomo said:
Looks like a Callogobius Hasselti or similar species to me..
Click to expand...

The color pattern seems to be right for Callogobius Hasselti. Burggess's lists its maximum length with 8 cm which would match the 3.5 inches.
 
Last edited:
It's definitely not a lizard fish, the head shape, jaw, and fins are much different. Like somosomo said, it's in the Callogobius genus and due to the size, I'd say it might be Callogobius bifasciatus, which gets larger than other Callogobius species.

Take a look at this link, which has a bunch of Callogobius species. It's hard to tell from the pics exactly which species you have since so many look of them are very similar.

http://pbs.bishopmuseum.org/images/JER/images.asp?nm=Callogobius&loc=&size=s&cols=3
 
I know I am the one that asked but because of all the suggestions, I have been looking at and reading and doing some research. Because of the two long and approx. equal length dorsal fins I believe it is a Blenny. The Gobies seeem to have a long (back) and a short (front) dorsal fin.

Bongo Shrimp said:
It's definitely not a lizard fish, the head shape, jaw, and fins are much different. Like somosomo said, it's in the Callogobius genus and due to the size, I'd say it might be Callogobius bifasciatus, which gets larger than other Callogobius species.

Take a look at this link, which has a bunch of Callogobius species. It's hard to tell from the pics exactly which species you have since so many look of them are very similar.

http://pbs.bishopmuseum.org/images/JER/images.asp?nm=Callogobius&loc=&size=s&cols=3
Click to expand...
 
hkgar said:
I know I am the one that asked but because of all the suggestions, I have been looking at and reading and doing some research. Because of the two long and approx. equal length dorsal fins I believe it is a Blenny. The Gobies seeem to have a long (back) and a short (front) dorsal fin.
Click to expand...

It's not a blenny. The head shape, jaw, secondary dorsal fin, and pectoral fin shapes are indicative of a goby species. It may also just be a close relative to the Callogobius genus, however it is most likely IN the Callogobius genus. The body shape is too wide and round to be a blenny. Most bennies that have separate dual dorsal fins have longer fins towards the anterior part of the body. If you look at the link I provided, you'll see that the entire body and fins of the fish in that genus match those of the one pictured.
 
Blennies have a continuous dorsal fin, so if it is separated into two it can't be a blenny.

Gobies on the other hand always have 2 separated dorsal fins.
 
ThRoewer said:
Blennies have a continuous dorsal fin, so if it is separated into two it can't be a blenny.

Gobies on the other hand always have 2 separated dorsal fins.
Click to expand...

Well no, some species, such as several in the Blenniella genus have two separate dorsal fins but in general they are much longer on the Blenniella sp. than in most gobies.
 
On some blennies it may look like 2 separate fins but they are still connected and don't have a space in-between like you see it with gobies.
 
Bongo Shrimp said:
Well no, some species, such as several in the Blenniella genus have two separate dorsal fins but in general they are much longer on the Blenniella sp. than in most gobies.
Click to expand...

Good I am not nuts. I sort of remember getting an Orange Spotted Blenny, genus Blenniella, and it went missing in action. I think this is it.

If I get him trapped tonight, we will find out in the AM.

Put your bets down now. 4 to 3 on the blenny
 
hkgar said:
Good I am not nuts. I sort of remember getting an Orange Spotted Blenny, genus Blenniella, and it went missing in action. I think this is it.

If I get him trapped tonight, we will find out in the AM.

Put your bets down now.
Click to expand...

Don't need to bet. It's not an orange spotted blenny. It's a goby in the genus Callogobius. An orange spotted blenny would have two dorsals (or what appears to be two) running almost the entire length of the body.

This is an orange spotted blenny:
blenniella_chrysospilos.jpg


Note the completely different morphology.
 
This reminds me of something I read awhile back about taking so many pictures with our cell phone. We are so into the picture taking we don't truly remember the event. When I saw this strange fish in the trap, I became so concerned about getting some pics I remember little of what I observed. Not even sure why I put it back in the tank before taking the pics. Trusted the pics to be my memory and they are horrible.

About the betting - just having a little fun.
 
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